Thanksgiving Tangible vs. Intangible

Hello, everyone! This is Mylie from Edison Education writing today.

As most educators know, the holiday season is very difficult for many of our students. So many of our students lack basic needs much less all of the fun gizmos and gadgets that their peers have. Because this separation in economic status takes an all-time high during the holiday season, I decided that I wanted my students to reflect and appreciate on the things they already have. From this, my tangible vs. intangible lesson was born.

We started the lesson off by writing down examples of tangible or intangible things. I had to give my own examples first for scaffolding because my students did not know what tangible or intangible was.

From there, I had the students write down 3 tangible and 3 intangible things in their life they are thankful for on their own tangible/intangible sheet I provided for them. We then shared their favorite from each with the class and I wrote it up on our example board. Here is what they came up with.

I then had them pick the one intangible they are most thankful for in their life to place on their turkey. The students were very thoughtful with their choices. One of my favorites was a student of mine who tends to get into a lot of trouble. She said that she was most thankful for people giving her second chances when she messes up. Tear jerker!

Once they all had their turkeys finished, they got to decorate them and hang them in the hallway outside of my room.

Overall, this lesson turn out exactly as I had hoped. The students were very reflective and thoughtful with their responses. They also got to share so many positive things that are going on in their life that cannot be bought from a store. If you have a lot of at-risk students like I do, this may be a lesson you want to do with your own students in the future. It might just make the holiday season a little more bearable for these kiddos.

I put together the basic format for the tangible/intangible sheet just for you guys! Head on over to my store for this freebie as a thank you for everything every single educator out there is doing for our students! You are all superstars!

Book Recommendations on the Tree (Freebie)

Hey everyone! It's Stephanie from The Marvelous Middle. Next week marks the beginning of the holiday season and my favorite time of the year. Every year I put up a tree in my classroom and every year I struggle with using the same old decorations to trim my classroom tree. So this year, I came up with a way to combine my love of YA books with my love of Christmas. I created an ornament that gets my students involved in the decorating and gives them a voice to recommend books to their classmates. I always love hearing my students talk among themselves about great books they have read during SSR and I often eavesdrop on their conversations about the newest book their classmates should checkout. Yes, my students still ask for my opinion but it isn't the only opinion they seek out. They look to their classmates for book advice. This craftivity gives my students one more way to persuade their fellow classmates to read a book they found amazing, incredibly, or totally awesome. 

Here is one student's finished ornament that I will be laminating and getting ready to trim the tree next week.

The ornament looked like this before it was folded and glued together:

During this activity, the students chose a book to recommend and then decorated the cover of the book on the ornament, including the title, author, and book cover decoration. On the other side, they had to explain why the book they chose was a "gift" to read. The expectation was to pull in the other students by giving them just enough to prompt them to read it for themselves.

If you would like to try this in your own classroom, click here to go to this freebie in my TPT store.

I hope you enjoy this activity as much as my middle schoolers have. Happy Holidays and enjoy trimming your classroom tree.

History of the Holidays

I don't know about you.....But I'm READY for the holiday break!!  My junior high kids....Even MORE ready!  I think we will all look like this on Friday...

So, what I'd like to share with you are some ideas of what you can do those days before holiday breaks when your kids are READY to walk out the door before you on Friday!

I'm guilty of trying to "cram" in that last lesson and trying to wrap up a unit before we leave for a break.  Sometimes my planning is perfect and the planets align and I'm actually able to pull it off...But that's usually not the case.

So, what I've started to do for the past few years are some fun "History of..." activities of the holidays before that particular holiday.  My students LOVE it!  They are activities that engage my students at a time when they are "antsy" and ready for a break!  I try to include reading/writing/technology/videos to keep them fully engaged.  Depending on the activity, I may just do it on the Friday before we break, or perhaps Thursday and Friday.  It depends on the year and the class!  I have quite a few holiday related activities I do throughout the year, click HERE to see them in my store!

Tomorrow, I'll be doing one of my favorite activities with my students where we delve into a brief history of Thanksgiving and a history of the Thanksgiving holiday here in the US.  Click the image below to see this activity in my store:

My students really get into this activity and it's a great way to end the week!  I want to also share with you some other websites that have some great ideas for sharing the History of Thanksgiving:

• Thanksgiving History
• Passenger list of the Mayflower
• National Geographic-Kids History of Thanksgiving
• Library of Congress-Thanksgiving/Primary Source Photos
• Scholastic-History of Thanksgiving Activity
• REALY COOL site with primary sources related to the Pilgrims and sailing of the Mayflower

What are some activities that you do around the holidays?  I'd love to hear!

Have a WONDERFUL and WELL-DESERVED holiday break!

Black Friday Wish List Linky and a Giveaway!

But wait, there's more!

The Mob is getting into the spirit of giving!  Check out this awesome prize pack!

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Thanksgiving Thank You Notes (FREEBIE)

It's Caitlin here from Teach Inspire Change! 

One thing that I personally love to do is write thank you notes. Generally, when I send someone a thank you note, they are shocked, which says to me that thank you notes are going out of style. And they absolutely should not be. There's something truly special about sitting down and expressing your gratitude to someone through a written note. So with Thanksgiving just around the corner, we put together a super helpful resource for you to write thank you notes in your classroom. If I were still in the classroom, I would certainly spend an entire class period working on thank you notes - you could even make your own thank you notes if you're the extra creative, scrapbook-y type!

I really hope you enjoy using this freebie with your students. Happy Thanksgiving to you all - you're almost there :)

P.S. If you're at a loss for a short and challenging unit to teach before the Thanksgiving holiday or even before the Christmas holiday, our "The Gift of the Magi" unit is an excellent resource!

Adult Coloring in the Classroom

Hello all! It's Shana from Hello, Teacher Lady

Believe it or not, the holidays are quickly approaching! As a teacher, trying to plan around them can be a little tricky -- you've got those days leading up to a break when many kids are out of town and also those pesky (but glorious) half days where you don't see all your classes. Because of this uncertainty, I try not to plan anything major during these times, but then that begs the question of what actually to do (without assigning a bunch of "busy work").

Enter adult coloring pages!

Adult coloring is pretty trendy these days, but for good reason. It's relaxing, fun, and allows you to be creative without having to think too hard -- a perfect activity for excited students on those days surrounding a break! We all know that students can be extra squirrely around the holidays, but I've noticed that adult coloring pages have a wonderful calming effect which helps combat the squirrelyness (yes, these are words!).

Check out some of my favorite resources for free adult coloring printables below:

http://www.everythingetsy.com/2015/08/printable-coloring-pages-for-adults-15-free-designs/

http://www.art-is-fun.com/free-adult-coloring-pages

http://bydawnnicole.com/2015/05/free-printable-coloring-page-bookmarks.html

Thanks for stopping by!

Community Involvement

Mandy from Caffeine and Lesson Plans here, blogging about one of my favorite parts about teaching during the holidays... community involvement!

Clipart by Freepik

It's hard to imagine what life would be like without community in our classrooms. So much of what we do is based upon encouraging our students to engage in their classroom and school communities through personal connections, activities, and kindness. It's so natural to extend that community outside of our school walls and into our towns and cities!  For the past few years, I have participated in a few activities a year that help my students give back. I've noticed my students feel more interested in learning about our city and helping people nearby AND within our own classroom. By working together to help others, we are building our own community... which enables us to be better teammates and cooperative learners. It's a win/win! So, here are some ideas for getting your students involved in your local community. 

1. Write a Letter

It seems simple, doesn't it? Just write a letter! Well- here's the thing- it is simple. You and your students can create a batch of letters in just one or two class periods. Their impact is big though. Send them to a local nursing home or hospice around the holidays to bring happiness to the elderly or ill. Write thank you notes to the Firemen and Policemen for all that they do in your community. Let your city councilors, school committee, and Mayor know how much you appreciate their hard work for the school system. Send cheerful "hello" notes to a local shelter for people that are "hard up." Or, just write a letter to someone you admire in the community. Doctors, nurses, mailmen- the options are endless. I always make sure that my students only sign their notes with their first name to maintain confidentiality. 

2. Organize an benefit

Giving to others makes us feel inherently good. Why not capitalize on that? Do something for the community- organize a canned food drive, collect spare change, or ask for old winter coats and hats. See if a representative from the charity can come to your classroom to pick up your donation so your students can see the impact they are having! If not, bring back pictures of the drop off to help them make the connection.

3. Create craft bags

Put together small craft bags for local shelters that cater to families with children. When families are put in a bad situation, any little distraction can be helpful for children. Sometimes nursing homes will be able to use these, as well! I have had success with finding something simple on pinterest, copying easy directions (sometimes with photos), and putting all the necessary bits in a bag. Usually, a messy craft isn't very well received, so I recommend no glitter, minimal glue/paint, and lots of clean-up supplies (if needed). If you want to really stretch your funds, the most inexpensive bags I have made have been a few crayons and some printed our coloring pages. My classroom dropped these off at our local police department to be given to students in crisis. It makes a tough time in life better just a little bit better.

4. Make pet pillows for the local shelter

Take old scraps of fabric or pillowcases, stuff them with batting, and use fabric glue to close them. Instant pet pillows for animals in need of a home! This one can be tricky for younger kids, but my fifth graders had no problem. I did end up running the pillows through my sewing machine as well to ensure the seam would not let go, but I think that could be avoided with a better fabric glue. Don't get yours at the dollar store like I did... lesson learned!

5. Grow plants to donate to public city buildings

Such a fun way to integrate science and community involvement! Last year, my students grew plants in small pots (donated by the local hardware store). We are lucky to have a greenhouse at my school, so we could grow them year round. Once they were flowering, we decorated the pots and brought them to city hall to be displayed. It was fun for the students to see the flowers when they went with their parents to city hall.

Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours!